IMMIGRANT VOICES

Jim Ariki

by AIISF

California College of the Arts graduate film student Robert Gomez recently profiled Masayuki "Jim" Ariki and Li Keng Wong for a video installation in the Immigration Station barracks on Angel Island. Sadly, Jim passed away soon after the interview, on January 21, 2013. He was born Jan. 20, 1923 in Fresno, and went to Japan with his family when he was two years old. He returned alone in 1937 and worked in the Delta until he met his future wife, Asa Tsuboi. They married in 1941, were interned in Poston, Arizona during World War II, and for the next 58 years, they raised a family and enjoyed numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. His story is profiled in Erika Lee and Judy Yung's Angel Island: Immigrant Gateway to America and you can view the 8-minute video here. See more of Robert Gomez Hernandez's work on his website.